iGerard FTW

This is the third and final installment of my iPhone camp out debacle

Scene: iGerard and iPhone 3G, driving on to Gainesville, FL. I gave my dad a call and thanked him for giving me his SSN so early in the morning. Then all of a sudden I hear my iPhone 2G ring. I look at it, wondering why in the world its ringing. I pick up the phone and go through the usual maneuvers. I hit the sleep/wake button then keep driving on. Then I noticed, I could call my phone number from the iPhone 3G. Also, why in the world was the old iPhone still activated? I quickly grabbed my iPhone 3G and called Kolin up. I asked him what number did he see on the screen.

Turns out it was my dad’s phone number that was showing up. Not good.

I stopped at the next exit and quickly dialed 611. Evidently, when I activated my iPhone 3G, Anwar put it under my dad’s phone number instead of my phone line. So, there’s the iPhone 3G activated on my dad’s line and my old iPhone still activated on my phone line. I got on with an AT&T representative and told her my case. Everything was going fine and I started to drive on back to Gainesville. Then, about 20 miles out and 15 minutes being on hold later, she tells me I have to drive back to the Apple Store to switch the numbers and that there is NO possible way to fix it over the phone.

I try to keep my cool, turn around, and start driving back to the Apple Store… 120 miles away. The whole way I try to call up the Apple Store to see if they can do anything without me having to drive the rest of the way. Unfortunately, no one answered the phone, which makes perfect sense considering how busy they were, and would be, for the rest of the day. After a long spat of hitting myself to stay awake and intense concentration on the road, I finally arrive in Tampa and pull into International Plaza.

I got to the Apple Store and was recognized by the security guards. I told them the situation and they escorted me to the entrance of the Apple Store, passing the whole line and, again, seeing faces wide eyed and agape. I talked to Ric, the head specialist, and told him what the AT&T representative had told me. He then went to consult the store manager and left me to wait. A few Apple Store employees, including John and TJ, asked me what I was doing back in the store. After telling them my story – the third time I had told the incredibly long story – they had a similar one to tell me (minus the purchase of an iPhone 3G on the wrong line, driving back and forth… nevermind, nothing like my story in anyway except for the grief). John told me that a few minutes after Kolin and I had left, their servers to contact AT&T had went down so, vis a vi, their POS units were useless to purchase the phones. After talking to them for a little bit, Ric came back to me and told me I had to go to the AT&T store in International Plaza to deal with it there. He told me he notified the manager and told me to head over there and they would explain what I needed to do.

I went to the AT&T store, seeing a short line, and went straight inside for the manager. Thinking back I probably should have waited in line behind the other customers, but I was already livid that I had to drive back and get bounced around between the two stores. I went inside and waited for the manager to come out of the back. He finally came out and told me, not asked but TOLD ME, to go outside and wait. I told him that Ric sent me over there to get this situation fixed. He cut me off before I could finish my sentence and said I have to wait outside and he doesn’t care about my problem right now. “There are more problems in here right now than what you’re having. What problem could you have anyway? You already have the iPhone???”

Verbatim

I was holding my tongue because this guy really had no effing clue. Many choice words and phrases came up but I calmly said, “I was told to come here and the situation would be fixed. I’ve been awake for the last 25 hours and I’d REALLY like to get mine and my father’s phone fixed ASAP.” Now, it seemed at this point the world stood still, both of us staring angrily at each other, probably wanting to rip each other’s throat out. Me, at a staggering (compared to him) 5′ 8”, towered over his 5′ 1” puny body waiting to rip him a new one. Finally he asked me, nicely this time, to step outside and wait in line.

I went outside…

After 15 minutes, the vertically challenged guy with a power trip went out to ask each customer what they needed. He finally came to me and told me that I can switch out the SIM card in my iPhone EDGE (thanks for term kpereira XD) to my iPhone 3G. My dad would then have to go to an AT&T store in Texas to get a new SIM card for his phone. He also assured me that when he does, he’ll be escorted to the desk – skipping whatever line there was for the iPhone 3G – to get a new SIM card. I really don’t know how considering I didn’t even give him the location of the store he would be going to. I switched out the SIM cards and called my dad, telling him what to do for his phone.

I walked back through the mall, still getting satisfaction as people stared at my white iPhone 3G and nifty bag, and got to the Apple Store. I thanked Ric and the rest of the staff and proceeded to leave the malll, again being escorted by security. I’m glad they did that, considering I could have been mugged for my prized possession.

I got inside my car, plotted my path in Maps, and started the drive to Gainesville.

This time, for good.

Feel free to check out my FriendFeed account for all of my iPhone 3G content from the launch. There you’ll find links to my Flickr, Youtube, Vimeo, and every other service you can find me on!

iGerard